tion; and with what humility he offers to allow the printer to "alter any stroke of satire which he might dislike." That any such alteration was made, we do not know. If we did, we could not but feel an indignant regret; but how painful is it to see that a writer of such vigorous powers of mind was actually in such distress, that the small profit which so short a poem, however excellent, could yield, was courted as a "relief!" It has been generally said, I know not with what truth, that Johnson offered his "London" to several booksellers, none of whom would purchase it. To this circumstance Mr. Derrick alludes in the following lines of his "Fortune, a Rhapsody:" — "Will no kind patron Johnson own? Shall Johnson friendless range the town? The offspring of his happy muse?" But we have seen that the worthy, modest, and ingenious Mr. Robert Dodsley 2 had taste enough to perceive its uncommon merit, and thought it creditable to have a share in it. The fact is, that, at a future conference, he bargained for the whole property of it, for which he gave Johnson ten guineas, who told me, "I might, perhaps, have accepted of less; but that Paul Whitehead had a little before got ten guineas for a poem, and I would not take less than Paul Whitehead." I may here observe, that Johnson appeared to me to undervalue Paul Whitehead upon every occasion when he was mentioned, and, in my opinion, did not do him justice; but when it is considered that Paul Whitehead was a member of a riotous and profane club 3, we 1 Samuel Derrick, a native of Ireland, was born in 1724. He was apprenticed to a linen-draper, but abandoned that calling. first. for the stage, where he soon failed, and then for the trade of literature, in which he is forgotten. Johnson had a great kindness" for him, and he was Boswell's "first tutor in the ways of London." In 1761, he succeeded Beau Nash as master of the ceremonies at Bath, but his extravagance and irregularities always kept him poor. He died in 1769. CROKER. 2 Robert Dodsley was born in 1703. He had been a liveryservant, but wrote some poems and plays, and became an eminent bookseller and publisher. He died in 1764. CROKER. 3 Dr. Anderson imagined that the club alluded to in the text was the Beef Steak Club, held in Covent Garden Theatre, and consisting of an heterogeneous mixture of peers, poets, and players," he might have added, princes. But this jovial club, which still exists, by no means deserves the character given in the text, and there can be no doubt tat Boswell meant a dissolute and blasphemous association which called itself the Monks of Medenham Abbey, of which Lord Le Despencer, Wilkes, and this Paul Whitehead were leading members. Whitehead died in 1774, bequeathing Eis beart to his patron, Lord Le Despencer, who deposited it is a mausoleum in his garden, at High Wycombe. CROKER, 1846. In the printed and MS. catalogues of the British Museum Manners is strangely attributed to William Whitehead. CROKER. 5 St John Hawkins, p. 86., tells us, “The event (Savage's retirement) is antedated in the poem of London; but in every particular, except the difference of a year, what is there said of the departure of Thales must be understood of Sawage, and locked upon as true history." This conjecture is, I believe, entirely groundless. I have been assured that Johnson said he was not so much as acquainted with Savage when he wrote his "London." If the departure mentioned in it was the departure of Savage, the event was not antedated | may account for Johnson's having a prejudice against him. Paul Whitehead was, indeed, unfortunate in being not only slighted by Johnson, but violently attacked by Churchill, who utters the following imprecation: "May I (can worse disgrace on manhood fall?) Be born a Whitehead, and baptized a Paul!" yet I shall never be persuaded to think meanly of the author of so brilliant and pointed a satire as "Manners." + Johnson's "London" was published in May, 17385; and it is remarkable, that it came out on the same morning with Pope's satire, entitled "1738:" so that England had at once its Juvenal and Horace as poetical monitors. The Rev. Dr. Douglas 6, now Bishop of Salisbury, to whom I am indebted for some obliging communications, was then a student at Oxford, and remembers well the effect which "London produced. Every body was delighted with it; and there being no name to it, the first buzz of the literary circles was, "Here is an unknown poet, greater even than Pope." And it is recorded in the "Gentleman's Magazine" of that year, p. 269., that it "got to the second edition in the course of a week." One of the warmest patrons of this poem on its first appearance was General Oglethorpe, whose " strong benevolence of soul" was unabated during the course of a very long life; though it is painful to think, that he had but too much reason to become cold and callous, and discontented with the world, from the neglect which he experienced of his public and private worth, by those in whose power it was to gratify so gallant a veteran with marks of distinction. This extraordinary person was as but foreseen; for London was published in May, 1738, and Savage did not set out for Wales till July, 1739, However well Johnson could defend the credibility of second sight, [post, 24 Mar. 1775,] he did not pretend that he himself was possessed of that faculty. - BOSWELL. Notwithstanding these proofs, the identity of Savage and Thales has been repeated by all the biographers, and has obtained general vogue. It is therefore worth while to add the decisive fact, that if Thales had been Savage, Johnson could never have admitted into his poem two lines that point so forcibly at the drunken fray, in which Savage stabbed a Mr. Sinclair, for which he was convicted of murder: "Some frolic drunkard, reeling from a feast, Provokes a broil, and stabs you in a jest." Mr. Murphy endeavours to reconcile the difficulties by supposing that Savage's retirement was in contemplation eighteen months before it was carried into effect: but even if this were true (which is very improbable), it would not alter the facts-that London was written before Johnson knew Savage; and that one of the severest strokes in the satire touched Savage's sorest point. - CROKER. 6 Dr. John Douglas was a Scotchman by birth, but educated at St. Mary Hall and Balliol College, Oxford, (M.A. 1743, D.D. 1758,) and owed his first promotions to Lord Bath (to whose son he had been tutor), and his literary reputation to his detection of Lauder. He was made Bishop of Carlisle in 1788, and translated to Salisbury in 1791, in which see he died in 1807.-CROKER. James Edward Oglethorpe, born in 1698, was admitted of C. C. C. Oxford in 1714; but he soon after entered the army, and served under Prince Eugene against the Turks, and in after life used to affect to talk slightingly of the great Duke of Marlborough. His activity in settling the colony of Georgia obtained for him the immortality of Pope's celebrated panegyric: "One, driven by strong benevolence of soul, Pope, who then filled the poetical throne without a rival, it may reasonably be presumed, must have been particularly struck by the sudden appearance of such a poet; and to his credit let it be remembered, that his feelings and conduct on the occasion were candid and liberal. He requested Mr. Richardson', son of the painter, to endeavour to find out who this new author was. Mr. Richardson, after some enquiry, having informed him that he had discovered only that his name was Johnson, and that he was some obscure man, Pope said, "He will soon be déterré.2 We shall presently see, from a note written by Pope, that he was himself afterwards more successful in his enquiries than his friend. That in this justly-celebrated poem may be found a few rhymes which the critical precision of English prosody at this day would disallow cannot be denied; but with this small imperfection, which in the general blaze of its excellence is not perceived, till the mind has subsided into cool attention, it is, undoubtedly, one of the noblest productions in our language, both for sentiment and expression. The nation was then in that ferment against the court and the ministry, which some years after ended in the downfall of Sir Robert Walpole; and it has been said, that Tories are Whigs when out of place, and Whigs Tories when in place; so, as a Whig administration ruled with what force it could, a Tory opposition had all the animation and all the eloquence of resistance to power, aided by the common topics of patriotism, liberty, and independence! Accordingly, we find in Johnson's "London" the most spirited invectives against tyranny and oppression, the warmest predilection for his own country, and "The cheated nation's happy fav'rites see; Mark whom the great caress, who frown on me." "Has heaven reserv'd, in pity to the poor, No pathless waste, or undiscover'd shore? We may easily conceive with what feeling a great mind like his, cramped and galled by narrow circumstances, uttered this last line, which he marked by capitals. The whole of the poem is eminently excellent, and there are in it such proofs of a knowledge of the world, and of a mature acquaintance with life, as cannot be contemplated without wonder, when we consider that he was then only in his twentyninth year, and had yet been so little in the "busy haunts of men." Yet while we admire the poetical excellence of this poem, candour obliges us to allow, that the flame of patriotism and zeal for popular resistance with which it is fraught had no just cause. There was, in truth, no "oppression;" the "nation" was not "cheated." Sir Robert Walpole was a wise and a benevolent minister, who thought that the happiness and prosperity of a commercial country like ours would be best promoted by peace, which he accordingly maintained with credit, during a very long period. Johnson himself afterwards [Oct. 21. 1773] honestly acknowledged the merit of Walpole, whom he called "a fixed star;" while he In 1745 he was promoted to the rank of Major-General, and had a command during the Scotch Rebellion, in the course of which he was, to say the best of it, unfortunate. Though acquitted by a court of enquiry, he never was afterwards employed. He sat in five or six parliaments, and was there considered as a high Tory, if not a Jacobite: to this may, perhaps, be referred most of the particulars of his history his dislike of the Duke of Marlborough -the praises of Pope- his partiality towards Johnson's political poetry - the suspicion of not having done his best against the rebels and the "neglect " of the court. He died 30th June, 1785. C. 1831. I find in Mr. Knox's "Extraofficial State Papers" the following passage on Oglethorpe's military character: "Nothing is more easy than for a military commander at a distance from home to acquire a high reputation for skill and valour, if he happens to be connected with an Opposition who never fail to puff off his exploits, while the ministers, for their own sakes, are silent on his misconduct — so it fared with Oglethorpe." (Vol. ii. p. 15.) CROKER, 1846. 1 There were three Richardsons known at this period in the literary world: 1st, Jonathan the elder, usually called the Painter, though he was an author as well as a painter; he died in 1745, aged 80 2d, Jonathan the younger, who is the person mentioned in the text, who also painted, though not as a profession, and who published several works; he died in 1771, aged 77: 3d, Samuel, the author of the celebrated novels. He was by trade a printer, and had the good sense to continue, during the height of his fame, his attention to his business. He died in 1761, aged 72. - CROKER. 2 Sir Joshua Reynolds, from the information of the younger Richardson.- BOSWELL. 3 It is, however, remarkable, that he uses the epithets which undoubtedly, since the union between England and Scotland, ought to denominate the natives of both parts o our island: or an "Was early taught a Briton's right to prize."- BOSWELL. 4 What follows will show that Boswell himself was o opinion that "LONDON" was dictated rather by youthfu feeling, somewhat inflamed by the political frenzy of th times, than by any "knowledge of the world,' "mature acquaintance with life." It is remarkable tha Johnson, who was, in all his latter age, the most constant and enthusiastic admirer of London, should have begun lif with this bitter and yet, on some topics, common place in vective against it. The truth is, he cared comparatively littl about the real merits or defects of the minister or the metro polis, and only thought how best to make his poem sell. CROKER characterised his opponent, Pitt, as "a meteor." But Johnson's juvenile poem was naturally impregnated with the fire of opposition, and upon every account was universally admired. Though thus elevated into fame, and conscious of uncommon powers, he had not that that I may rather say, bustling confidence, or, animated ambition, which one might have supposed would have urged him to endeavour at rising in life. But such was his inflexible dignity of character, that he could not stoop to court the great; without which, hardly any man has made his way to a high station.' He could not expect to produce many such works as his "London," and he felt the hardships of writing for bread; he was therefore willing to resume the office of a schoolmaster, so as to have a sure, though moderate, income for his life; and an offer being made to him of the mastership of a school, provided he could obtain the degree of Master of Arts, Dr. Adams was applied to, by a common friend, to know whether that could be granted him as a favour from the University of Oxford. But though he had made such a figure in the literary world, it was then thought too great a favour to be asked. Pope, without any knowledge of him but from his "London," recommended him to Earl 1 This seems to be an erroneous and mischievous assertion. If Mr. Boswell, by stooping to court the great,' means base flatteries and unworthy compliances, then it may be safely asserted that such arts (whatever small successes they may have had) are not those by which men have risen to high stations. Look at the instances of elevation to be found in Mr. Boswell's own work-Lord Chatham, Lord Mansfield, Mr. Burke, Mr. Hamilton, Sir William Jones, Lord Loughborough, Lord Thurlow, Lord Stowell, and so many dignitaries of the law and the church, in whose society Dr. Johnson passed his later days-with what can they be charged which would have disgraced Johnson? Boswell, it may be suspected, wrote this under some little personal disappointment in his own courtship of the great, which, as we shall Johnson's own opinions on see, often tinges his narrative. this point will be found under Feb. 1766, and Sept. 1777.CROKER. 2 In a billet written by Mr. Pope in the following year, this school is said to have been in Shropshire; but as it appears from a letter from Earl Gower, that the trustees of it were "some worthy gentlemen in Johnson's neighbourhood," I in my first edition suggested that Pope must have, by mistake, written Shropshire, instead of Staffordshire. But I have since been obliged to Mr. Spearing, attorney-atlaw, for the following information:-" William Adams, formerly citizen and haberdasher of London, founded a school at Newport, in the county of Salop, by deed dated 27th of November, 1656, by which he granted the yearly sum of sixty pounds to such able and learned schoolmaster, from time to time, being of godly life and conversation, who should have been educated at one of the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge, and had taken the degree of Master of Arts, and was well read in the Greek and Latin tongues, as should be nominated from time to time by the said William Adams, during his life, and after the decease of the said William Adams by the governors (namely, the Master and Wardens of the Haberdashers' Company of the city of London) and their successors.' The manor and lands out of which the revenues for the maintenance of the school were to issue are situate at Knighton and Adbaston in the county of Stafford." From the foregoing account of this foundation, particularly the circumstances of the salary being sixty pounds, and the degree of Master of Arts being a requisite qualification in the teacher, it seemed probable that this was the school in contemplation; and that Lord Gower erroneously supposed that the gentlemen who possessed the lands, out of which the revenues issued, were trustees of the charity. Such was the probable conjecture. But in the "Gentleman's Magazine" for May, 1793, there is a letter from Mr. Henn, one of the masters of the school of Appleby, in Leicestershire, in which he writes as follows: ** I compared time and circumstance together, in order to Gowers, who endeavoured to procure for him LORD GOWER TO "Trentham, Aug. 1. 1739. "Now these gentlemen do me the honour to discover whether the school in question might not be this "These I thought to be convincing proofs that my con- "But what banishes every shadow of doubt is the Minute Book of the school, which declares the head mastership to be at that time VACANT." I cannot omit returning thanks to this learned gentleman for the very handsome manner in which he has in that letter been so good as to speak of this work. - BOSWELL. Sir John Hawkins had already stated the school to have 3 At this time only Lord Gower. It seems not easy to re- D 3 it necessary; choosing rather to die upon the road, than be starved to death in translating for booksellers; which has been his only subsistence for some time past. "I fear there is more difficulty in this affair than those good-natured gentlemen apprehend; especially as their election cannot be delayed longer than the eleventh of next month. If you see this matter in the same light that it appears to me, I hope you will burn this, and pardon me for giving you so much trouble about an impracticable thing; but, if you think there is a probability of obtaining the favour asked, I am sure your humanity, and propensity to relieve merit in distress, will incline you to serve the poor man, without my adding any more to the trouble I have already given you, than assuring you that I am, with great truth, Sir, your faithful servant, GOWER." It was, perhaps, no small disappointment to Johnson that this respectable application had not the desired effect; yet how much reason has there been, both for himself and his country, to rejoice that it did not succeed, as he might probably have wasted in obscurity those hours in which he afterwards produced his incomparable works. persevering in that course, into which he had been forced; and we find that his proposal from Greenwich to Mr. Cave, for a translation of Father Paul Sarpi's History, was accepted.2 Some sheets of this translation were printed off, but the design was dropped; for it happened oddly enough, that another person of the name of Samuel Johnson, librarian of St. Martin's in the Fields, and curate of that parish, engaged in the same undertaking, and was patronised by the clergy, particularly by Dr. Pearce, afterwards Bishop of Rochester. Several light skirmishes passed between the rival translators, in the newspapers of the day; and the consequence was that they destroyed each other, for neither of them went on with the work. It is much to be regretted, that the able performance of that celebrated genius Fra Paolo, lost the advantage of being incorporated into British literature by the masterly hand of Johnson. I have in my possession, by the favour of Mr. John Nichols, a paper in Johnson's handwriting, entitled "Account between Mr. Edward Cave and Samuel Johnson, in relation to a version of Father Paul, &c., begun August the 2d, 1738;" by which it appears, that from that day to the 21st of April, 1739, Johnson received for this work 491.7s. in sums of one, two, three, and sometimes four guineas at a time, most frequently two. And it is curious to observe the minute and scrupulous accuracy with which Johnson had pasted upon it a slip of paper, which he has entitled "Small ac 9th, Mr. Cave laid down 2s. 6d." There is subjoined to this account, a list of some subscribers to the work, partly in Johnson's handwriting, partly in that of another person; and there follows a leaf or two on which are written a number of characters which have the appearance of a short-hand, which, perhaps, Johnson was then trying to learn. About this time he made one other effort to emancipate himself from the drudgery of authorship. He applied to Dr. Adams, to consult Dr. Smalbroke of the Commons, whether a person might be permitted to practise as an advocate there, without a doctor's degree in civil law. “I am,” said he, "a total stranger to these studies; but whatever is a profession, and main-count," and which contains one article, “Sept. tains numbers, must be within the reach of common abilities, and some degree of industry." Dr. Adams was much pleased with Johnson's design to employ his talents in that manner, being confident he would have attained to great eminence. And, indeed, I cannot conceive a man better qualified to make a distinguished figure as a lawyer; for he would have brought to his profession a rich store of various knowledge, an uncommon acuteness, and a command of language, in which few could have equalled, and none have surpassed him. He who could display eloquence and wit in defence of the decision of the House of Commons upon Mr. Wilkes's election for Middlesex, and of the unconstitutional taxation of our fellow-subjects in America, must have been a powerful advocate in any cause. But here, also, the want of a degree was an insurmountable 'bar. He was, therefore, under the necessity of 1 Richard Smalbroke, LL.D., second son of Bishop Smalbroke, whose family were long connected with Lichfield, died the senior member of the College of Advocates. — CROKER. 2 In the Weekly Miscellany, Oct. 21. 1738, there appeared the following advertisement: "Just published, Proposals for printing the History of the Council of Trent, translated from the Italian of Father Paul Sarpi; with the Author's Life, and Notes theological, historical, and critical, from the French edition of Dr. Le Courayer. To which are added, Observations on the History, and Notes and Illustrations from various Authors, both printed and manuscript. By S. Johnson. 1. The work will consist of two hundred sheets, and be two volumes in quarto, JOHNSON TO CAVE. "Wednesday. [Aug. or Sept. 1738.] "SIR, I did not care to detain your servant while I wrote an answer to your letter, in which you seem to insinuate that I had promised more your expectations by any thing that may have than I am ready to perform. If I have raised escaped my memory, I am sorry; and if you remind me of it, shall thank you for the favour. If I made fewer alterations than usual in the Debates, it was only because there appeared, and still ́ap printed on good paper and letter. 2. The price will be 18s. each volume, to be paid, half a guinea at the delivery of the first volume, and the rest at the delivery of the second volume in sheets. Two-pence to be abated for every sheet less than two hundred. It may be had on a large paper, in three volumes, at the price of three guineas; one to be paid at the time of subscribing, another at the delivery of the first, and the rest at the delivery of the other volumes. The work is now in the press, and will be diligently prosecuted. scriptions are taken in by Mr. Dodsley in Pall Mall, Mr. Rivington in St. Paul's Church Yard, by E. Cave at St. John's gate, and the Translator, at No. 6. in Castle Street, by Cavendish Square."— BOSWELL. Sub pears to be, less need of alteration. The verses to Lady Firebrace may be had when you please, for you know that such a subject neither deserves much thought nor requires it. “The Chinese Stories may be had folded down when you please to send, in which I do not recollect that you desired any alterations to be made. "An answer to another query I am very willing to write, and had consulted with you about it last night, if there had been time; for I think it the most proper way of inviting such a correspondence as may be an advantage to the paper, not a load upon it. As to the Prize Verses, a backwardness to determine their degrees of merit is not peculiar to me. You may, if you please, still have what I can say; but I shall engage with little spirit in an affair, which I shall hardly end to my own satisfaction, and certainly not to the satisfaction of the parties concerned. “As to Father Paul, I have not yet been just to my proposal, but have met with impediments, which, I hope, are now at an end; and if you find the progress hereafter not such as you have a right to expect, you can easily stimulate a negligent translator. "If any or all of these have contributed to your discontent, I will endeavour to remove it; and desire you to propose the question to which you wish for an answer. I am, Sir, your humble servant, "SAM. JOHNSON." JOHNSON TO CAVE. [Sept. 1738.] “SIR,- I am pretty much of your opinion, that the Commentary cannot be prosecuted with any appearance of success; for as the names of the authors concerned are of more weight in the performance than its own intrinsic merit, the public will be soon satisfied with it. And I think the Examen should be pushed forward with the utmost expedition. Thus, This day, &c. an Examen of Mr. Pope's Essay, &c.; containing a succinct Account of the Philosophy of Mr. Leibnitz on the System of the Fatalists, with a Confutation of their Opinions, and an Illustration of the Doctrine of Free Will' (with what else you think proper). "It will, above all, be necessary to take notice, that it is a thing distinct from the Commentary. "I was so far from imagining they stood still, They appeared in the Gentleman's Magazine of Sept. 1732, with this title: "Verses to Lady F -, at Bury Assizes." BOSWELL. It seems quite unintelligible how these six silly lines should be the production of Johnson; the last of them is"Thou seem'st at once, bright Nymph, a Muse and Grace!" The This "Nymph, Muse, and Grace" was a widow Evers, who, in the preceding November, had, at the age of 38, re-married Sir Cordell Firebrace. She subsequently married Mr. Campbell, uncle to the Duke of Argyle, and died in 1782. Peerage, into which her alliance with Mr. Campbell has introduced her, quotes Dr. Johnson as evidence of her beauty. Johnson, I suppose, never saw her; the lines (if his at all) were made, we see, to order, and probably paid for CROKER, 2 Da Halde's Description of China was then publishing by Mr. Cave, in weekly numbers, whence Johnson was to select pieces for the embellishment of the Magazine, — NICHOLS. that I conceived them to have a good deal beforehand, and therefore was less anxious in providing them more. But if ever they stand still on my account, it must, doubtless, be charged to me; and whatever else shall be reasonable, I shall not oppose; but beg a suspense of judgment till morning, when I must entreat you to send me a dozen proposals, and you shall then have copy to spare. I am, Sir, yours, impransus, SAM. JOHNSON." Pray muster up the proposals if you can, or let the boy recall them from the booksellers." But although he corresponded with Mr. Cave concerning a translation of Crousaz's Examen of Pope's "Essay on Man," and gave advice as one anxious for its success, I was long ago convinced by a perusal of the Preface, that this translation was erroneously ascribed to him; and I have found this point ascertained, beyond all doubt, by the following article in Dr. Birch's manuscripts in the British Museum: "Elisa Carteræ, S. P. D. Thomas Birch. Versionem tuam Examinis Crousaziani jam perlegi. Summam styli et elegantiam, et in re difficillima proprietatem, admiratus. Dabam Novemb. 270. 1738."6 Indeed, Mrs. Carter has lately acknowledged to Mr. Seward, that she was the translator of the "Examen." It is remarkable, that Johnson's last quoted letter to Mr. Cave concludes with a fair confession that he had not a dinner; and it is no less remarkable that, though in this state of want himself, his benevolent heart was not insensible to the necessities of an humble labourer in literature, as appears from the very next letter: - JOHNSON TO CAVE, [No date.] "DEAR SIR, You may remember I have formerly talked with you about a military Dictionary. The eldest Mr. Macbean, who was with Mr. Chambers, has very good materials for such a work, which I have seen, and will do it at a very low rate. I think the terms of war and navigation might be comprised, with good explanations, in one 8vo. pica, which he is willing to do for twelve shillings a sheet, to be made up a guinea at the 3 The premium of forty pounds proposed for the best poem on the Divine Attributes is here alluded to. - NICHOLS. 4 The compositors in the printing-office, who waited for copy. NICHOLS. As Johnson seems to ask for these proposals, as affording him a pecuniary resource, they must have been the proposals for the large paper of the translation of Father Paul, for which, as we have just seen, one guinea was payable at the time of subscribing. CROKER. 6 Birch MSS. Brit. Mus. 4323. BoSWELL. There is no doubt that Miss Carter was the translator of the Examen, but Johnson seems to have been busy with another work of the same author on the same subject-" a distinct thing," as he calls it-viz. Crousaz's Commentary on the Abbé Resnel's translation of the Essay on Man; an anonymous translation of which was published in 1741, and quoted in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1743. CROKER. 7 See post, April 1781, and 26. June, 1738.-C. 8 This book was published. Boswell. |